|
A referendum was passed on November 6, 1928 that finally permitted baseball to be played on Sundays, provided the ballpark was more than 1,000 feet from a house of worship. Fenway Park, unfortunately was not, and the Red Sox were forced to play their Sunday games at Braves Field. On April 14, 1929, the Braves shut out the Sox 4-0 in an exhibition, the first organized Sunday baseball game ever played in the city of Boston. The Red Sox played a total of 17 home games at Braves Field during the season; 15 games on Sundays, and a doubleheader on Monday, September 2nd (Labor Day). On December 7, 1928, owner Bob Quinn traded Slim Harriss and Billy Rogell to St. Paul for rookie Russ Scarritt. Scarritt had to play his way onto the team in spring training, sufficiently impressed Red Sox manager Bill Carrigan and opened the season batting third and typically served as the left fielder. He played in 151 of the 154 games and batted .294 with 71 RBIs. He had a strong arm and recorded 16 assists and played as consistently as any of the members on the Red Sox, picking up four votes in the AL MVP voting. But Quinn also took his best player, shortstop Buddy Myer, and traded him back to the Washington Nationals for five players. Wally Gerber replaced him at shortstop and batted only .213. Jack Rothrock finally became a regular. He was the team’s center fielder, to take advantage of his speed and his strong arm, and played in 143 games. And Carrigan didn’t hesitate to move him around as the situation dictated. He was the team's most productive hitter, batting .300, stealing 24 bases, and led the team with six home runs. In 1929, Big Ed Morris' performance fell off and he began experiencing arm problems. For the year his 14 victories again led the staff, but he also lost 14 times and his ERA rose to 4.45, well above the league average. Pitcher Danny MacFayden got into double-digit wins for the first of three consecutive seasons and his four shutouts led the league. Pitcher Red Ruffing batted .314 in 1928, while losing a league-leading 25 games, so Carrigan considered shifting him to the outfield, but the team found that an injury to his foot slowed him down too much. On the mound Ruffing won nine and lost 22.
The Red Sox started by losing their first two games, but had a dramatic first win. In Washington on April 20th, a 4-4 tie was broken up in the ninth inning. With runners on first and third, Jerry Standaert laced a double to right-center that scored both runners, giving the Sox a 6-4 victory. The Sox opened at home by defeating the Yankees, 4 to 2. Ed Morris pitched a masterful game for the Sox, striking out Babe Ruth in his first at bat. Morris held the Yankee sluggers in check throughout the game. When Washington came to Fenway on April 26th, the game turned out to be a pitcher's duel between Jack Russell and Ad Liska of the Nats. Liska held the Sox in check, holding a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning. Bobby Reeves opened the eighth with a double inside the third base bag and scored on Doug Taitt's base hit. Then Jack Rothrock drove home the go-ahead run with a double to left. Finally, in the ninth, catcher Charlie Berry threw out Stuffy Stewart, trying to steal second, for the final out of the game, the Sox winning 2 to 1. In the city's first Sunday game played at Braves Field, the Sox lost to the Philadelphia A's, 7 to 3. Ed Morris held the A's to four hits back at Fenway on April 30th, winning 4 to 1. But the Sox lost three of the four games played.
May started with a long road trip for the Red Sox, where they only won four of the 18 games and fell into the basement, 12 1/2 games behind. But there were some bright spots. Jack Rothrock was primarily responsible for a Sox 5-4 win in Cleveland on May 7th. He roamed all over the outfield, killing off potential base hits. He robbed Charlie Jamieson of a double and Earl Averill of a triple, in addition to making several other outstanding catches. He also starred at the plate, knocking out a double and a triple. Big Ed Morris limited the Browns to just four hits and two unearned runs in St. Louis on May 11th. Catcher Johnnie Heving had three hits in the 8-2 Sox win. In Chicago, Danny MacFayden gave the White Sox five hits as he out-fought Grady Adkins, 2 to 1. The BoSox got their two runs on Elliot Bigelow's solo homer followed by two singles, a free pass and a run-scoring ground ball out in the fourth inning.
The Sox were on the winning end of a 5-3, 12 inning, thriller in New York. Bill Regan delivered the blow that deadlocked the contest in the eighth at 3-3. He then inserted the punch in the 12th that was the knockout blow. Elliott Bigelow started the inning with a one out double. Doug Taitt was passed and after Bobby Reeves flew out, Regan tripled to center scoring Taitt and Bigelow. Then in the bottom of the 12th, Gene Robertson and Mark Koening reached on base hits. But Ed Morris bore down and got the Babe to hit a weal grounder, ending the game. In was in the eighth, with runners on second and third, when Regan singled to right-center, to tie it up. Back in Boston, the Sox welcomed the Yankees. Danny MacFayden was not a gracious host however. He shut them out 5-0 on May 24th, limiting the Bronx Bombers to four hits, with three bloop singles and an infield hit. In the first game of a doubleheader the next day, May 25th, the Sox came from behind to beat New York, 10 to 8. Down by a run the Sox scored three in the sixth inning. The big hit was Russ Scarritt's triple to center with two men on, putting the Sox ahead. Bill Bayne came in a held the Yankees hitless for the final three innings, striking out both Gehrig and Ruth, the first two batters he faced in the seventh. The first place Philadelphia Athletics had won 11 straight games until May 28th. Then the Sox beat them 5-4 at Fenway. Bob Barrett, came into the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, with the Sox down by three. With a runner on second, he drove him home with a base hit, stole second and ended up on third when the throw went into center field. Charlie Berry's sac fly next brought him home. In the next inning with the bases loaded and the Sox now down just one run, Barrett lined a single to center that gave the Sox the go-ahead and eventual game winning run. The Sox finished the month with a 7-22 record, 17 1/2 games behind the Philadelphia A's, in last place.
The first week in June saw the Sox win four games and lose four games. On June 3rd, they pummeled the Cleveland Indians, 12-3. Then they were shut and proceeded to pound out 23 hits against the White Sox in the next game, winning 17-2. Billy Barrett had a home run and two doubles. Charlie Berry pounded out a homer to go along with two singles, and Phil Todt had two singles, a double and a triple. Shortstop, Bill Narleski was the hottest batter on the team with a 14 game hitting streak and a .369 batting average. He was shutout in the first game of a June 8th doubleheader but the started up again with three hits in the nitecap. The Sox split the doubleheader, winning the second game 4-1. The Sox and Tigers engaged in one of the most exciting games of the season at Braves Field on June 9th. Tied at three apiece going into the ninth the Tigers scored three runs. But the Sox came back in the bottom of the ninth to score four and win the game 7 to 6. Phil Todt and Bill Regan started the ninth with base hits. Ken Williams brought home Todt with a double to center. Red Ruffing came up as a pinch hitter and lofted a fly ball to center that scored Regan and allowed Williams to take third on the throw. Charlie Berry singled past third brought home Williams with the tying run. Bobby Reeves tried to move Berry over to second with a sacrifice bunt, but it went back to the pitcher, George Uhle, who couldn't get the out. Then Russ Scarritt lined a double to left center that brought home Berry with the game winner. The Sox followed with a 2-10 road trip that ended them falling to 30 games behind and still in the A.L. basement. But upon coming home, the Sox swept a three game series from Washington.
July started with the Sox losing eight of the ten games they played. Their bats exploded in a game in Detroit on July 11th. In beating the Tigers 15 to 8, the Sox had an inning where they scored ten runs. Johnnie Heving had three hits and knocked in four runs in the game. The Sox lost the next game, but scored twelve runs. Unfortunately the pitchers gave up thirteen runs to the Tiger hitters. Red Ruffing gave up nine of the runs, but also was 4-for-4 at the plate. Pitcher Jack Russell pitched one oh his best games of the season in St. Louis on July 14th. He limited the Browns to three hits, winning the game 5 to 2. Milt Gaston held the Browns to six hits, two games later, as his mates scored eleven times, winning 11-2. Gaston shared the batting honors with Phil Todt, each with three hits. After coming back from a road trip where the Sox only won four of their nineteen games, they met the Browns at Fenway. On July 24th, they came from behind and scored five runs in the seventh inning to turn a defeat into a 9-7 victory. Jack Rothrock knocked out four hits including a triple. On July 25th, Red Ruffing (3-18) tossed his finest game of the season, shutting out the Detroit Tigers, 4-0. He allowed five hits and struck out nine batters, walking only one. A few days later, in the first game of a July 31st doubleheader, Danny MacFayden pitched one of his best games, shutting out the Cleveland Indians, also by a 4-0 score.
On August 2nd, the Red Sox beat the White Sox, 3 to 2, in a ten-inning battle at Fenway. Outfielder Bill Barrett got a lot of satisfaction by being the one who beat his former team. He sent a ball off the left field wall to score tying run. Then Bill Regan's single up the middle ended the game, bringing home Barrett with the walk-off game winner. Ed Morris allowed the White Sox to just two hits on August 4th. His teammates belted out 17 hits for a total of 23 bases and scored eight runs, winning 8-0. Ken Williams slugged a homer and legged-out a triple. The Sox then embarked on a long road trip to finish the month. They were 44 games out of first and 10 games behind the seventh place White Sox. They started taking 3-of-4 in Chicago. Ed Morris won twice and Danny MacFayden pitched a 3-0 shutout. They next traveled down to St. Louis and again won 3-of-4 with MacFayden pitching his second gem, winning 1-0 and giving up just three hits. In Detroit, the Sox won on August 18th, going 11 innings with Sox prevailing 5-4. Twice Tiger baserunners were thrown out at third base. Bill Barrett threw Hal Rice out at third in the third inning and threw Emil Yde out at third in the bottom of the 11th to save the win. The Sox won 3-of-5 from the Tigers.
Morris won his fifth straight game on August 24th in Cleveland. He also had won seven of his last eight starts. The Sox took three of the five games they played against the Tribe. The road trip was successful by Red Sox standards, with the Sox winning 13 and losing 10. They were still in last place, seven games behind the White Sox, but 42 1/2 games out of first. September was a month totally spent at home. The won 12 games of the 27 games and slid further behind in in last place, 48 games behind. On Labor Day, September 4th, the Sox hooked up with Washington for a doubleheader at Braves Field. Nats' shortstop Joe Cronin had a great game, hitting for the cycle, going 4-for-5. Milt Gaston stopped Cronin and the rest of the Nats, beating them 7-2 in the second game. Down 3-0, Jack Rothrock's bases loaded triple in the bottom of the ninth inning, brought the Sox from behind to beat the Browns 4-3, on September 7th. The next day three ninth inning base hits broke a 3-3 tie with the Browns as the Sox again won in dramatic fashion, 4 to 3. The Sox won their fourth straight game led by JRothrock once again on September 9th. He banged out two singles and homered into the right field bleachers, leading the Sox to 6-2 win. On September 11th, the Sox continued displaying a never-say-die kinda spirit against the Detroit Tigers. Up 2-1 after six innings, the Sox and Red Ruffing were slammed for six runs in the seventh. But the Sox didn't quit, scoring three runs in the eighth on a home run by Phil Todt and a bases loaded, three-run single by Russ Scarritt. Then in the ninth, down 7-5, the Sox scored twice to tie the game and take the battle into extra innings. Bobby Reeves led the Sox 10th with a base hit, was bunted over to second and then scored the walk-off game winner on Jack Rothrock's line drive that dropped into left-center. The Sox came from behind again against the Indians at Fenway on September 21st. Down by a run going into the bottom of the 9th inning, the Sox got two men on base and scored when Joe Cicero beat the throw home on a ground ball to the Indians' shortstop. Three innings later, in the 12th inning, Phil Todt led with a double and scored the walk-off game winner on Bill Bayne's single to center, winning 4 to 3. Finally, on September 24th, when the Yankees visited Fenway, Mayor James Curley declared it "Babe Ruth Day". The Babe was given gifts by the mayor on behalf of the fans. In the game, the Babe went 2-for-3, with a single and a double as the Yanks beat the Sox, 5-3. At the end, the Red Sox were no better than the team was the year before. Year after year, big-league baseball in Boston became more of the same, as owner Bob Quinn stubbornly held on. In spite of the Red Sox poor record, attendance figures rose almost every season, as 394,620 fans saw the Red Sox play in 1929.
|
.jpg){kind=link}